Saturday, November 22, 2008

Looks Like Someone Didn't See "Anchorman"

I tried to get an interview, but they said, "You can't. He's a live bear. He will literally rip your face off." Hey! You're making me look stupid! Get out here! Panda jerk!-- Brian Fontana in Anchorman

BEIJING – A college student in southern China was bitten by a panda after he broke into the bear's enclosure hoping to get a hug, state media and a park employee said Saturday. [...]

"Yang Yang was so cute and I just wanted to cuddle him. I didn't expect he would attack," the 20-year-old student, surnamed Liu, said in a local hospital, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The best line comes from a park employee:

He said it was not clear whether the facility would add more signs around the enclosure or put more fences up.

"We cannot make it like a prison. We already have signs up warning people not to climb in," he said. "There are no fences along roads but people know not to cross if there are cars. This is basic knowledge."

He leaves us with the impression that the question isn't whether the zoo is doing enough to protect the people from the pandas -- it's whether they're doing enough to protect the pandas from the people.